The Virginian-Pilot
©
NORFOLK
Hundreds bid farewell to 18-year-old Charles Humphrey, who was fatally shot in his Park Place neighborhood, during a solemn ceremony Saturday morning in Norfolk.
The mourners arrived, some of them as much as an hour and a half before the service started, and filled every inch of the sanctuary at Urban Community Church at Park Place Baptist Church.
"I lost a brother," said Keith Humphrey, Charles' older brother. "We lost a brother. This has got to stop. I'm tired of reading about athletes dying. This has got to stop."
Charles Humphrey was the sixth South Hampton Roads athlete to be wounded or killed by gunfire in less than a year. He was captain of the football team at Maury, starting as both a running back and linebacker. He had planned to enroll at St. Augustine College in Raleigh, N.C., this fall.
During the service, his teammates donned orange and blue jerseys over their collared shirts and ties and squeezed into the first few rows of the sanctuary. They embraced and buried their heads into Charles' shoulders.
A week ago, Charles Humphrey was attending a party on 35th Street in the city's Park Place neighborhood before he was shot in the head. He was found dead a block away, at the intersection of 34th Street and Colonial Avenue at about 1 a.m. Sunday.
Police say they have a 17-year-old in custody who they believed delivered the fatal shotgun blast. The unidentified teen was arrested Friday morning in the Ballentine Place neighborhood and faces murder and gun charges. Further arrests are possible, police said.
The motive of the killing remained unclear.
"We are hurt and we are angry," said Mamie Bullock, Charles Humphrey's aunt. "We got to stop this stuff right now."
Several others addressed the congregation, appealing for change and forgiveness.
"This is a sad day, but we are not in despair," the Rev. E.K. Haywood eulogized.
The pastor told mourners how he approached a group of young men at the corner of 34th Street and Colonial Avenue, where Charles Humphrey died last week. One had poured dregs of wine onto the pavement, and Haywood said he could hear them crying out: "This shouldn't be. It should not have been Lil Charles, it should have been me."
Haywood used the encounter to make a point about how the tragedy touched everyone in the community.
"There is hope," Haywood said.
Moments later the entire place erupted when Denise Woodson belted out the song "The Battle is the Lord's." Some embraced. Others stomped. Grown men wept. The feeling of overwhelming solace was hard to shake.
As the nearly two-hour-long service ended, the tears continued to flow.
"Thank you all for coming," Keith Humphrey screamed to crowds as he walked down the church stairs.
The long funeral procession to St. Mary's Cemetery traveled down Church Street before being enveloped by traffic on Brambleton Avenue.
Duane Bourne, (757) 222-5150, duane.bourne@pilotonline.com
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Scottr31892 you're wrong
The teen violence issue is not prevalent to one ethnic group. As a youth and family counselor, I witness many violent acts committed by youth of all races and economic backgrounds. In addition, the population with the fastest growing gang involvement is white males, from two parent households in urban settings. However, African American males in this area receive the most news coverage for incidents involving youth violence, which explains the saturation of media coverage on this race. Also, the act of pour one's liqour out is termed "libation", which means a sacrifice to a god or in honor of a dead person.
Sources: OJJDP.gov Youth Violence Publication
Encarta.com
Correct me if I am wrong...
But pouring wine on the ground for symbolism of a person's death is done by GANGS to "honor" their fallen members....
It is sad for those communites to not step up and start confronting the issues. Quit putting your head in the ground and start looking at what is happening in your communities. In order to gain respect from others, you must first start respecting yourselves. Start working with police and open some form of communication with them. Help them understand how views are and assist them. Get rid of the "no snitching" attitude that is pervasive even up through the adults and elders in the community. If you continue to focus on the possibilitly that a police officer might do something wrong, you have failed miserably. Because it is a weekly occurence that a young African-American is killed by another, and you fail to address that issue. But a police officer steps out of line, you march in the streets. Scream for community centers all you want, but until children quit having children, and parents start acting like parents, you will continue to fail.
In poor taste
Of all the lowlife things to do. Post a picture of a murder victim laying in his coffin on the web !!! Can the Pilot get any lower?
I moved to South Florida
I moved to South Florida from Virginia Beach in March, and the same thing is happening here. There are too many deaths involving young African American athletes. These promising lives are being taken too soon and for no reason. It has to stop.